共通テスト英語 2023年度（令和5年度） 本試験 第5問
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Lessons from Table Tennis

The ball flew at lightning speed to my backhand. It was completely unexpected and I had no time to react. I lost the point and the match. Defeat... Again! This is how it was in the first few months when I started playing table tennis. It was frustrating, but I now know that the sport taught me more than simply how to be a better athlete.

In middle school, I loved football. I was one of the top scorers, but I didn’t get along with my teammates. The coach often said that I should be more of a team player. I knew I should work on the problem, but communication was just not my strong point.

I had to leave the football club when my family moved to a new town. I wasn’t upset as I had decided to stop playing football anyway. My new school had a table tennis club, coached by the PE teacher, Mr Trent, and I joined that. To be honest, I chose table tennis because I thought it would be easier for me to play individually.

At first, I lost more games than I won. I was frustrated and often went straight home after practice, not speaking to anyone. One day, however, Mr Trent said to me, “You could be a good player, Ben, but you need to think more about your game. What do you think you need to do?” “I don’t know,” I replied, “focus on the ball more?” “Yes,” Mr Trent continued, “but you also need to study your opponent’s moves and adjust your play accordingly. Remember, your opponent is a person, not a ball.” This made a deep impression on me.

I deliberately modified my style of play, paying closer attention to my opponent’s moves. It was not easy, and took a lot of concentration. My efforts paid off, however, and my play improved. My confidence grew and I started staying behind more after practice. I was turning into a star player, and my classmates tried to talk to me more than before. I thought that I was becoming popular, but our conversations seemed to end before they really got started. Although my play might have improved, my communication skills obviously hadn’t.

My older brother Patrick was one of the few people I could communicate with well. One day, I tried to explain my problems with communication to him, but couldn’t make him understand. We switched to talking about table tennis. “What do you actually enjoy about it?” he asked me curiously. I said I loved analysing my opponent’s movements and making instant decisions about the next move. Patrick looked thoughtful. “That sounds like the kind of skill we use when we communicate,” he said.

At that time, I didn’t understand, but soon after our conversation, I won a silver medal in a table tennis tournament. My classmates seemed really pleased. One of them, George, came running over. “Hey, Ben!” he said, “Let’s have a party to celebrate!” Without thinking, I replied, “I can’t. I’ve got practice.” He looked a bit hurt and walked off without saying anything else.

Why was he upset? I thought about this incident for a long time. Why did he suggest a party? Should I have said something different? A lot of questions came to my mind, but then I realised that he was just being kind. If I’d said, “Great idea. Thank you! Let me talk to Mr Trent and see if I can get some time off practice,” then maybe the outcome would have been better. At that moment Patrick’s words made sense. Without attempting to grasp someone’s intention, I wouldn’t know how to respond.

I’m still not the best communicator in the world, but I definitely feel more confident in my communication skills now than before. Next year, my friends and I are going to co-ordinate the table tennis league with other schools.